Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 2 Oct 2026, 17:04 BST

Official UK procurement notice

003726 - Internal Audit Management System

Authority: Durham County Council (Local council)

GoodsBelow threshold - open competitionBelow threshold
Published estimate£170,000≈ £57k / year · £204,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 5 Nov 202610:00 GMT · 9 days left
Clarification cut-off 30 Oct 202610:00 GMT · questions to the authority
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Mar 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Replacement of Internal Audit Software system. Full requirements can be found in Document 3a. Contract Specification and PSQ Appendix 1 of the tender documents, which are available free of charge at www.open-uk.org ↗

The reason for this procurement is due to our existing Internal Audit Management Software being on premise and the Council is currently undergoing a 'cloud first' strategy.

CPV: Industry specific software package

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 3 yrsPublished value£170,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensionsValue: £170,000 exc. VAT · £204,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: North EastTurnover guideline: ~£113,230/yr≈ 2× annual value
Extensions: The Contract period is for an initial 3-year period, with the option to extend for a further 1 x 36 months subject to satisfactory performance, service continuity and the Council's future requirements.

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids are scored
Quality: 50%Price: 50%
Published sub-criteria (6)
  • Statement of Works: 20%
  • Training and Knowledge Transfer: 5%
  • Hypercare and Post Hypercare Support: 5%
  • System Demonstration: 15%
  • Desirable System Functionality: 5%
  • Price: 50%
Published award criteria (6)
  • Statement of Works
  • Training and Knowledge Transfer
  • Hypercare and Post Hypercare Support
  • System Demonstration
  • Desirable System Functionality
  • Price

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 50 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
  • Turnover usually expected at this size: about £113,230 (twice the annual value).

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Durham County Council buys Industry specific software package (CPV 4810), and who usually turns up

Durham County Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Industry specific software package (CPV 4810) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerDurham County Council · division 48
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 4 of 9 known-size awards · market: CPV 4810 · North East England, n=29
44%52%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North East England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 1 of 15 known-location awards · market: CPV 4810 · North East England, n=45
7%0%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 decided notices · market: CPV 4810 · North East England, n=5
42 days43 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 42 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 12 of 19 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 4810 · North East England, n=52
63%87%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyer6 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 48
17% had one bid
The market6 lots with bid counts · CPV 4810 · North East England
17% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid17% / 17%
Buyer: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
2–367% / 50%
Buyer: 4 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
4–617% / 17%
Buyer: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
7+0% / 17%
Buyer: 0 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyer31 lots with estimate and award · all categories
29% below estimate
The market12 lots with estimate and award · CPV 4810 · UK-wide
75% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate29% / 75%
Buyer: 9 of 31 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 9 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%55% / 17%
Buyer: 17 of 31 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 2 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate16% / 8%
Buyer: 5 of 31 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 1 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 481036 monthsPublished estimate£170k
Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

3expected bids29% chance of a single bid
similar past contests in this category: 20
Forecast chances for this lot
1 bid29%
Chance this lot gets 1 bid: 29%. This is a forecast.
2–337%
Chance this lot gets 2–3: 37%. This is a forecast.
4–629%
Chance this lot gets 4–6: 29%. This is a forecast.
7+4%
Chance this lot gets 7+: 4%. This is a forecast.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

Based on 3 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

£151k11% below estimate
3 comparable awards
Forecast compared with the buyer’s estimate
Middle 50%£121k–£170k
Half of likely prices fall between £120,869 and £170,000.
Estimate£170k
The buyer published an estimate of £170,000 for this lot.
A 13% chance the award lands exactly on the estimate.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
CIVICA UK LIMITEDLive contract002150 - Library Management System (LMS)runs to May 2031—£450kMatched as the earlier contract

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

SupplierWon in this categoryLive contractsAward vs estimate
Live contractBuyer regular12 wins in North East England19 panel places
£47m158 awards in 36m · last this month63 live · £163m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

7% below n=19
10 wins in North East England1 panel places
£103m43 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago19 live · £2.0bn
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

at estimate n=1
6 wins in North East England1 panel places
£47m56 awards in 36m · last this month14 live · £13m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

no comparable pairs
19 panel places
£3.1bn49 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago20 live · £6.0bn
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

at estimate n=14
5 wins in North East England
£19m58 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago32 live · £11m
i

Public contracts this supplier still holds.

Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book.

Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity.

33% above n=1
About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
2 Oct 2026, 17:04 BST
Last source update
7 Oct 2026, 09:57 BST
Authority reference
OPEN20261825
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-093549
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Industry specific software package
Delivery area
North East (UKC14)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07802a Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Tender submission deadline
5 Nov 2026, 10:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
30 Oct 2026, 10:00 GMT
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Tender documents can be accessed free of charge on the Open Portal at www.open-uk.org ↗

Clarifications and submissions must be made via the Open Portal

Published estimate £170,000 excludes VAT (£204,000 including VAT).

Timeline

2 Oct 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Tender notice published24 days ago
    2 Oct 2026, 17:04 BST
  2. Latest notice published19 days ago
    7 Oct 2026, 09:57 BST
  3. Today
    27 Oct 2026
  4. Clarification questions byin 3 days
    30 Oct 2026, 10:00 GMT
  5. Submission deadlinein 9 days
    5 Nov 2026, 10:00 GMT
  6. Contract startsin 155 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Oct 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    2 Oct 2026, 17:04 BST
    UK4
  2. Tender notice published
    7 Oct 2026, 09:57 BST
    UK4

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Durham County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PMPB-8772-VYWM Corten House, Dunholme Close, Durham, North East, DH1 5WBContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender